


Gradual Escalation

by TheExecutor



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Blue Cookies (Percy Jackson), Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Mortal AU, Other characters and ships introduced over time, Piper is Amazing Emotional support, Romance, Sally teasing Percy is her job, Writer AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:27:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28108548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheExecutor/pseuds/TheExecutor
Summary: Annabeth had her life set out for her, and vowed to never be in a relationship again...but when a certain Sea-Green eyed boy comes along, everything is thrown out the window|Or, the Percabeth Modern AU no asked for|
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	1. Begun, It has

**Author's Note:**

> So, hello to everyone reading this!  
> If you didn’t read the summary and decided to jump straight into the fic, This is a Mortal-AU Percabeth Fic, with additional AUs for fun.  
> I’ll try to update on weekly basis...and I think that’s all I have to say, anything I didn’t say is at the endnotes :p  
> Enjoy reading!  
> PS: Language warning

“Goddammit!” She yelled, her hands pulling at her Blonde Curls. Tears began to well in her eyes as she read the text that had been sent to her. She attempted to strengthen her will...but to no avail as she choked up a sob. The relationship she had been in was now shattered by one simple text message, although she should have seen it coming.

Things had gotten bumpy when they argued over something, but it just got worse from there. She had believed, hoped, that they would be able to rectify and rebuild their relationship...her efforts had clearly failed. 

While her mind was preoccupied, she failed to hear the door open, or even for a moment, the hand that was shaking her shoulder.

“Annabeth, ANNABETH!” And that was enough to break her trance.

“Huh, how, Piper? When did you ge-get here” She asked, her voice breaking mid-sentence.

“When? I just got here and found you on the  _ floor, in tears _ !” Piper exclaimed, although her fury quickly resided as she asked, 

“What happened? It’s not every day I find my best friend like this” She asked, getting down to eye level.

“We broke up,” Annabeth said, holding back another sob as it dared to exit her throat.

“Oh, Anna…” Piper comforted, rubbing her hand on her friend’s back.

“Let’s move to the couch and then let’s talk about it, yeah?” And she was answered with a nod. The pair then relocated, Annabeth now calming down somewhat.

“He just texted me and that was pretty much it” She mumbled, the simple truth making her heart wince.

“Do you want me to beat his Ass into Tartarus?” Piper provided and even though her voice was innocent, Annabeth knew that she was fully capable of going through with it.

“No, not really...I just want to rest, sleep sounds better actually” She said.

“Do you want to stay around?” Piper volunteered.

“If you  _ sigh  _ want to...I’ll be napping in my room if you need me” And just as Annabeth was about to leave, Piper yanked her back down.

“Nope, stay here where I can watch over you, you still need emotional support, and I’m willingly giving it to you” She declared and Annabeth smiled at the generosity of her friend.

“I can’t decline can I?” Annabeth asked and Piper shook her head.

After a short while, Piper had set up the couch so that Annabeth could rest, her legs propped up on Piper’s lap where she was currently massaging them.

“Hey Pipes,” Annabeth said, her voice quiet and her tiredness evident.

“What’s up?” Piper looked up from the work she had been doing to calm her.

“Thanks for not leaving, even though we didn’t have our binge after-  _ yawn _ -noon” She sleepily replied, her eyes began to droop.

“I don’t care about that now, it’s you getting better, you hear me?” A smile appeared on Annabeth’s face just as she was whisked off to slumber.

——————————

_ 3 Months Later _

Annabeth was currently rapidly typing on her computer as she finished the second chapter of her first and current Fantasy story. It was mainly set in ancient Greece, with a heavy connection to Greek Mythology. She had also been prompted to make this second chapter(and future ones) when the first chapter had gotten an overwhelmingly positive response.

“Aaaaand...Send!” After pressing Enter, she got the notification from the site that it had been uploaded and a large smile happened upon her face.

“I should call Piper and Hazel, see if she wants to have a drink…” She mused and just as she was about to leave, another notification appeared in her inbox, this one a message.

Anticipating this to be either a scam or hate message, the message’s content surprised her, it read:

_ From User: CookiesRLife _

_ Hi! _

_ I really like the story you’ve written, although I haven’t read the second chapter yet, heh _

_ I would just like to say this is really cool, I hope you plan on finishing this… _

_ P.S: I think you may have also given me the motivation to write something :j _

__ Annabeth’s smile grew until it reached her eyes. Knowing that she had managed to influence someone positively. Typing back a quick response, she got out of her and dialed in her friends to see if they were available.

_ An Hour Later _

__ The Three had met at a local cafe that wasn’t too far from their respective apartments.

“Ok, so get this,” Piper began to gush, turning the table’s attention to her.

“Jason,  _ finally _ , asked me out!” She said, her eyes lighting up.

“Nice, when are you guys going?” Hazel prompted.

“Sometime this week, he didn’t even say where we’re going” Piper answered.

“Heh, if he’s bad, you always have us on speed-dial” Annabeth joked, to which they laughed.

“By the way, how’s Luke?” Hazel decided to ask. Soon the happy aura disappeared and was replaced by heavy tension.

Hazel understood what this meant and didn’t pry any further, to which Annabeth was grateful for.

“Hey, I just realized we haven’t ordered yet” Piper suddenly spoke and then it dawned on them how long they had been talking.

“I’ll go to the counter, what do you guys want?” Annabeth asked. 

“Well, I’ll take a Latte,” Piper said, handing her the money.

“I’ll just have an Espresso,” Hazel said, doing the same.

Annabeth nodded and went off to pay for their drinks. After a short line, Annabeth was greeted by a Latino boy, roughly about the same height as her. 

“Hi, The names Leo and I’ll be serving you today!” He said, his Cheery expression spreading over onto Annabeth.

“Hi Leo, could I get a Latte, a Mocha then a Decaf?” 

“Sure thing…?” He looked back up to her, “Annabeth Chase” 

He nodded, then punched in a few numbers into the register, answering her the price, “That would be Twelve Dollars and Fifty” He said and Annabeth dutifully paid exactly, to which she swore she saw his eyes light up.

“Thanks, ma’am, we’ll have your order in about...Fifteen minutes” He said, throwing her a wave as she thanked him and headed back to her table.

“So what were you guys talking about while I went to order?” Annabeth asked as she rejoined them.

“Oh nothing, just how you probably ordered Decaf  _ again _ ” Piper teased and Hazel stifled back a laugh.

“Oh  _ Haha _ , I don’t need that much Caffeine at this moment,” Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s because unlike some of us,  _ Ahem _ , you get decent hours of sleep” Piper countered and the trio shared a laugh.

“Actually Piper, I do in fact get what you call ‘Decent Hours of sleep’ since me and Annabeth, unlike you, don’t cram at the last moment” Hazel argued, earning her a high-five.

Piper, on the other hand, did not enjoy her study and sleeping habits being criticized or being put into an unfavorable situation.

“Now you guys are just mean!” She exclaimed, feigning a pout, though Hazel and Annabeth could see the ends of her mouth being tugged upwards.

Just as Annabeth was to say something she heard her name being called at the counter. 

Heading over, a girl with Caramel-Coloured hair was waving over to her, the tray of their drinks on the counter.

“Hi, here’s your order, thanks for paying exact, it really helps us,” She said, it only then did Annabeth read her name tag.

“Hey, by any chance, are you the one who owns the cafe?” Annabeth asked.

“Yup, well mostly the cafe is named after me, even though I insisted we didn’t have to, Leo over there nonetheless decided against my decisions” She snickered and Leo answered back with, “Hey! The idea came from you, the credit goes to you”

Annabeth smiled, which had some serious  _ Wholesome  _ vibes. “Well, thanks Calypso, I can’t wait to try these out,” She said and saw Calypso’s cheeks color slightly.

“Don’t mention it, you can always put your reviews in the box over...there” She pointed to the object in question, which was apparently a way for them to gauge the people’s thoughts.

“Sure, I think we’ll do just that later, thanks again,” Annabeth said as she took the tray with her.

“No Problem!” Calypso said, smiling before heading back to get another set of Drinks prepared.

Annabeth headed back to her table with the drinks, laying them out. When she took her first sip, it was evident that it was made out of quality resources, and her friends were clearly experiencing the same.

“We should come here more often…” Hazel said, putting her Espresso back down, “They serve some  _ mean _ stuff here” She exclaimed, to which everyone else agreed on.

“Yeah, I can’t believe we’ve only come here now, all things considered,” Annabeth provided.

“Ok, we should come here like, every weekend if we’re free, sound good?” Piper declared.

“Yeah”

“Absolutely” Were the responses she got. The trio had their drinks as they exchanged banter, poking fun at one or the other when the opportunity came up. 

“We should leave a review,” Annabeth said and the two looked at her, confused.

“Do they have a website or…?” Piper asked.

“No, well I haven’t checked but, we can just leave it on paper” Annabeth explained, grabbing three sheets for them.

“Is it fine if I borrow your pen when you’re done?” Hazel requested and Annabeth obliged.

As Piper and Annabeth waited for Hazel to finish writing down her thoughts, Piper decided to “rate all present male specimens” which Annabeth had gone accustomed to, although less so now that she had a boyfriend.

“Piper, do you really have to check out every guy present, what would Jason think about that?” 

“Oh that, he actually doesn’t mind it,” Piper said, casually throwing it out around as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Hey guys, we can go now, I’m done,” Hazel said as she came back from depositing her paper.

“Alright, where do you girls want to go next?” Annabeth asked, considering it was just mid-afternoon.

“Hmm, I think I’ll like a stroll in the park,” Piper said as she left a tip on the table.

“Sure thing-Ow!” Annabeth suddenly exclaimed as she neared the door. She hadn’t been looking as to where she was going and that had resulted in a collision.

“Oh my gods, I’m so so so sorry, it was an accident and I didn’t see where I was going then-” Annabeth cut the guy off before he could continue his explanation.

“Hey, I also wasn’t looking, it’s fine alright, apology accepted,” She said, and the guys happily smiled.

“Thanks” And after a quick handshake, he went deeper into the Cafe.

It was only when they were approaching Central Park did Piper whisper into her ear, “You know he’s pretty cute” and Annabeth can’t find it herself to argue since for once, she may agree with Piper about this...

.

_ 2 hours later _

__ As Annabeth emerged from her steaming shower, refreshed. She contemplated what she would do until dinner and decided to check her recent second chapter.

When she loaded up the site on her computer, she was greeted with the sight of it already having overwhelmingly positive feedback. A smile grew on her face as she read the reviews. Ranging from the simple, “ _ This was a great chapter, can’t wait! _ ” To the more intricate, “ _ This was certainly a good chapter, although I would like to point out a few mistakes… _ ”

After a nearly half-an-hour of reading, she had seen her fair share of criticism, positive and negative, and decided she would continue tomorrow.

Getting out of her room, she made her way to the kitchen to cook herself up a simple dinner. While she was in the middle of making her Spaghetti, at the corner of her eye, she spotted... _ mail _ ?

Quickly snatching it, she would read it later, lest she accidentally overdo something in her dish. 

When she finished, she set her plate on the table, eating forkfuls of it and commending her on the well-done job. When she read the letter, it slightly surprised her.

Someone was going to move into the apartment across the hallway from hers, which meant she would have a flatmate. The reason it surprised her was that no one had decided to move into that room for as long she was there.

The letter also had a portion dedicated to practically saying, “ _ If this person has a complete disregard of cooperation and pretends to own the place, just dial in this number and we’ll kick him out _ ” and, bemused by this, she decided to see how everything would play out before having to resort to this.

Aside from the fact they would arrive in a month, it didn’t say anything aside from that and she was fine with that, in fact, it made it all the more exciting.

After finishing up her dinner and putting her plate in the sink, which she promised to herself she would wash tomorrow, turned on Netflix to see if anything was worth a watch. 

Turning on a documentary, her mind drifted once again to what could become of her possible flatmate, paying little detail to the show.

If she was, to be honest, it did occasionally get lonely(Read: Most of the time) at her place and this could provide her with some Social interaction, be that good or bad, was not something she knew.

Eventually, she turned off the TV and headed off to bed when she realized what time it was. 

Turning off the lights, she happily sighed at how well this day had gone before closing her eyes and letting sleep do its job.

—————

_ The Next Morning _

__

__ After finally doing the ever-mounting pile of dishes and having breakfast, Annabeth decided to continue her story as well going through any other reviews she hadn’t seen last night.

She also apparently, had another message, surprisingly from the Person yesterday, which read:

_ From User: CookiesRLife _

__ _ Ok, that was an AMAZING chapter! _

_ Also, can I ask when do you update? Just curious, especially since how well this going _

_ Oh and thanks for replying yesterday day :D _

__ Annabeth could seriously get behind chatting with this person, especially since they were a joy to type to, considering how friendly they were.

_ Thanks, it’s nice that you’ve been enjoying it _

_ Also, I don’t have any real upload schedule, I just update when I want to be honest ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ _

__ After hitting  _ Enter _ , the question made Annabeth consider if it was practical, and she decided it was not, especially considering something could pop up and jeopardize said schedule, which would result in her having a backlog

Looking up at her clock, she decided she could continue later and headed out to buy groceries, especially since she only had a day left of supplies left in cupboards and her fridge.

Putting on a hoodie and a pair of pants, she made her way out of her apartment. 

.

_ An hour later _

__

__ As the Elevator dinged, Annabeth lugged the pair of grocery bags that occupied both her arms. Although, when the doors opened, she was surprised at the sight in front of her.

There was a man, fiddling with what was presumably, a key, trying to get into the door that led to the hallway, which in turn led to her apartment.

Just as she was about to launch into a sprint and bombard him with her recently-bought groceries, he saw her, his eyes widening in panic as he held up his eyes and yelled “Wait!”

Annabeth did stop but for a different reason.

Wasn’t he the guy who she had run into just yesterday?


	2. Enter Percy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we enter the madlad, Seaweed Brain himself,  
> Percy Jackson
> 
> With Sally doing her job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with the Second Chapter, in my promised time deadline.  
> Also for reference, this chapter is going to be in Percy’s POV but after this, the viewpoints are mainly from the 3rd-person.  
> Oh, this also going to be 7 Chapters, 8 if I have time.  
> That’s all for now, anything else is gonna be at the Endnotes, Enjoy!  
> PS: Language Warning

Percy knew fate was weird with him...for some reason.

But this, he didn’t want to fathom how much things had to line up for this to happen. The event in question was that the girl he had stumbled into at a cafe yesterday, he was surprised he still remembered, had just threatened to possibly bombard him with whatever was in her grocery bags.

Oh and apparently she was his soon-to-be flatmate, they were certainly off to a good start.

“I don’t see how you thought I was trying to rob you, all things considered,” As they sat in her living room.

“Eh, I heard nothing in advance and then I come home to see a stranger fumbling with my front door” She exclaimed.

“Fair, Fair, so how about a fresh start? I’m Percy. Percy Jackson” He said, reaching out for a handshake.

Annabeth smiled and accepted, “Annabeth. Annabeth Chase,” She said in turn.

“Annabeth huh? Neat name” Percy complimented and Annabeth wondered why the room’s temperature and risen slightly.

“Likewise,” She said and Percy grinned before saying, “Right? My mom actually chose it from the myth of Perseus and-” 

“You’re into Greek Mythology?!” Annabeth exclaimed, she had tried to get Piper interested but had only succeeded in piquing her slightly.

“Enough to know a decent amount” He responded and this eventually prompted the big question “ _Who’s your favorite God or Goddess_?” 

“If I were, to be honest...I’d say Poseidon” Percy said and Annabeth looked at him oddly.

“Hey! I swim so naturally, he’s the Deity I go to plus, we have water _everywhere_ ” Percy said

“Personally, I feel more connected with Athena...just the whole Wisdom and Knowledge aspect had me sold” She explained and Percy nodded.

“So...you’re an earthworm?” Percy teased and before she could argue Percy rebuked his statement, “Kidding, Kidding...unless?” He said, beginning to chuckle.

“Well, _kinda_ ” And they shared a laugh about it.

“I realized I should be checking out my new room,” Percy said as he stood up.

“Fair, sorry again for a while ago,” Annabeth said.

“No problem, catch up some other time?” He offered.

“Sure” Annabeth agreed and Percy took that as his cue to leave. Bidding her a wave before exiting her room and crossing the hall to what would soon be his.

Unlocking the door, he wasn’t surprised that it looked a decent amount like Annabeth’s, except smaller, although Percy didn’t mind much since he didn’t have that much stuff he had to bring in.

“It’s in pretty nice at least, and in good condition” Percy remarked, going through the several rooms.

Checking his watch had Percy realizing how much time had actually passed since he only had an hour until his shift. Taking a last look around, he cursed how he had forgotten to bring a measuring tape.

Nonetheless, he was back in his car in several minutes and making speed to work.

—————

”Hey, sorry if I’m late,” Percy said as he entered the cafe.

“It’s alright, you're just in time,” Calypso said from the counter.

“Where’s Leo?” He asked as he tied the apron behind his back, also adorning the cafe’s signature hat.

“He was tired from last night so I told him to stay home, Grover’s covering for him though” She explained.

“Speaking of Grover, where is he?” Percy asked, considering as he had yet to see his best friend.

“He’s in the back doing the inventory,” Calypso said and Percy nodded, heading off to the back.

“Hey, G-Man!” Percy said, startling Grover as he patted him on the back.

“Oh, my Gods Percy, a little warning next time?” He exclaimed.

“It won’t be a surprise then” Percy explained.

“What will be a surprise is if there’s a line of people at the register since Cal has to multi-task” Grover chided and Percy’s eyes grew at the realization.

“Oh right, we can talk more later,” Percy said as he hurried back out to man the cashier’s spot, leaving Grover to chuckle at his expense.

Thankfully enough for Percy, only two people had entered and Calypso had easily dealt with them, nonetheless, he apologized profusely.

“Hi, I’m Percy and I’ll be taking your order today,” He said as he greeted the customer.

“Hello Percy, I’ll just have two Mochas, one Green tea then a chicken sandwich,” She said as Percy placed in her order. 

“Alright, that’ll be Twelve Dollars...Oh and your name for later” He requested.

“Piper McLean,” She said, and Percy noted that down.

“Alright then Piper, your order should be out in...Ten Minutes” He said, and after bidding thanks she returned to her table and when Percy’s eyes followed her, he nearly forgot he was working.

There was his cousin, Hazel Levesque sat alongside...Annabeth Chase.

The way of the Fates was seriously odd, he reasoned. He regained control of his train of thoughts and soon enough was back to taking orders.

“Order for Piper McLean!” He heard Calypso call out from beside him.

Piper then got up from her seat to claim their orders. After a quick exchange, she headed to him first.

“Hazel’s asking if you can talk after?” She asked.

“Tell her I can call in a break in a bit,” He said and Piper went to relay.

Soon enough, the number of customers dropping by and reduced by enough that Percy was able to convince Grover to take his spot for a while.

“So…” He said strolling up to their table, “You wanted to talk?” He asked Hazel, though noting Annabeth’s surprised expression.

“Mhm, pull up a chair,” She said.

“You guys know each other?” Annabeth and Piper simultaneously asked.

“Yep especially since we’re cousins” Hazel explained.

“And now I also know Annabeth here,” Percy said, earning him confused looks.

“Especially after she threatened me with-” He said but was cut off by Annabeth who argued, “I did not _threaten_ you!” 

“Yep, may I add you add a murderous look in your eye that looked like you were bent on destroying me with your groceries” And with the full situation explained, Piper and Hazel burst out laughing.

“I do not have some murderous look...also what?” Annabeth asked, looking between the two.

“It’s just that you _do_ have a murderous look in your eyes…” Piper explained, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

“Oh and because this whole situation is just plain stupid,” Hazel said.

After the pair’s laughter had died down, Percy restarted the conversation, “You wanted to catch-up?” He asked, turning his attention to her.

“Yeah, especially since it’s been some time” Hazel replied.

And that’s where it started, with an exchange between the two relatives and Piper and Annabeth occasionally chiming in.

“So how’s Nico and Jason?” Percy asked and Piper's eyes shot up in surprise.

“WAIT WHAT?! Jason is related to you guys!?” Piper exclaimed, frustration rolling off her.

“Erm, yes actually, he’s our cousin, so is Thalia” Percy explained and Piper huffed in annoyance.

“And no one, not even him or you Hazel, had decided to mention that to me?” Piper asked, incredulous. 

“There just wasn’t a need or a time to bring it up…” Hazel said and Piper huffed again.

“To be fair, I didn’t know Jason had it in him to actually date, let alone get in a relationship,” Percy said and now Piper laughed, more of cackled actually.

“I didn’t believe I was his first until he kissed then right after asked if he _did it right,_ ” Piper said and Percy chuckled, “Yup, sounds like Jason to me, always the perfectionist”

After saying that Percy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, upon opening it, found out his mom was calling.

“Hey, I just gotta take this real quick,” He said then retreated to a corner in the back where nobody would bother him.

“Hey, mom what’s up?” He asked.

“ _Hey honey, sorry if I’m bothering you but, when can you come home?_ ” She said from the other end.

“I think I can leave now, is something wrong though?” He hoped nothing was wrong though, everything had been going nicely as of the week.

“ _Oh no dear, it’s just me and Paul were asking so that we could go out later…_ ” She said and Percy breathed a sigh of relief.

“ _By the way, how did you find your new apartment?_ ” Sally asked and Percy had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going.

“Yeah, it’s nice, there’s enough space for all my things...oh and I met my flatmate,” He said and he could practically _hear_ her grin on the other side of the phone.

“ _Let me guess, you encountered them on embarrassing terms and then profusely apologized for whatever you did?_ ” Percy’s face now burned up, how his mother and so simply summarized it was beyond him.

“Yeah, that is was what happened with her-” And he knew he shouldn’t have specified the gender.

“ _Ooooo, it’s a she huh? Is she nice?_ ” The teasing tone evident.

“Uh, yeah mom, she’s actually quite pretty,” He said, hoping no one was eavesdropping.

“ _I’ll allow it as long as you two don’t get...intimate_ ” After she said that, Percy was just about ready to sink as far as his body possibly could into the ground.

“Uhm yeah, I’ll be going now mom, see you later, bye,” He said rushing the sentence.

“ _Alright bye honey, see you later_ ” And she finally ended the call, much to Percy’s relief.

“You think I’m pretty huh?” Percy’s thought process halted then froze entirely.

For standing behind him was Annabeth Chase, a sly smirk on her face.

Percy mustered up his Courage and brought up a retort, “It’s true, you got the looks going for you” He explained calmly, though he knew for a fact that his face was beet red.

“Hey you don’t look so bad yourself,” She said and he was just about done with the whole _breathing_ part.

“Thanks, I gotta go now though, babysitting and all,” He said and she nodded understandingly.

“Kay, see you again sometime soon?” She asked.

“Absolutely, especially in the coming weeks,” He said.

“Fair, you should probably go ask Calypso to head back,” Annabeth said.

“It’s what I’m going to do” And he headed into the back to search out the part-time manager.

“Yeah sure thing, it’s a relatively slow day, Grover can take over anyways,” Calypso said as they emerged from the back.

“Thanks so much, Cal, I’ll make up for it tomorrow,” Percy said.

“It’s fine, though I wouldn’t mind if you brought over those famous blue cookies-”

“How many?” He asked though it was given he would provide a tray’s worth.

With that sorted out, Percy sped home, since he knew how much his parents had wanted some quality time to themselves and he would make sure that they got a good night.

Though before they left his mom asked while he prepared dinner for him and Estelle, “Did you catch her name?”

“Yeah, her name’s Annabeth,” He said, his concentration solely on the meal he was making.

“Annabeth Jackson _does_ have a nice ring to it,” She said before Percy could answer back, leaving his thoughts muddled and unable to speak.

_How was his mother so good at getting this side of him?_ He wondered.

——————————

_4 Weeks later_

“You didn’t have to help you know,” Percy said as he and Annabeth placed a bookshelf in its corner.

“I know but that would be sort of Ass move on my end” She explained and Percy understood.

“Fair...hey after we move that other bookshelf, you wanna have a snack?” He offered.

“Hmm, what kind though,” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Cookies” Was all he said and she agreed. They set up the other shelf in relatively short order as they were already tired from moving those, the TV stand, the coffee table, and of course the couch.

“So what kind of Cookies do you have to offer?” Annabeth asked, to which Percy grinned.

“Well, have you ever tasted Blue Cookies?” And her eyes narrowed.

“Percy if you intend to poison me then-” He cut her off and said, “Nothing like that ‘Beth, here just taste them” And he handed one of the pastries in question.

After taking it, Annabeth eyed it suspiciously then took a bite out of it and her eyes exploded in their quality.

“Wow, those were really good, did you make these?” She asked.

“Yep, though the recipe is from my mom, I still have a few more for sharing” And share they did, bonding the bag-worth of cookies Percy had brought with him.

“So, what was that for the first day of being your flatmate?” Percy asked as Annabeth was about to head back to her room.

“You’re not bad,” Annabeth said, causing Percy to question her.

“I gave you top quality cookies though” He provided and she considered what he had done.

“Yes, but you’ve only done that” And with that being said, she walked back to her room across the hall. Percy sat there shaking his head and chuckling to himself, he was having a good time as it should be.

Especially since they were going to be around each other much more now that he had permanently moved in…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that for a second chapter.  
> I’ll be uploading the third chapter probably after Christmas since I have a dedicated Christmas one shot to be written.  
> That’s all I have, for now, Thanks to all those who’ve read the first chapter, it really means a lot.  
> Oh, and throw in your thoughts if you have any, I won’t mind reading them.  
> Until next time!


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get spicy between Percy and Annabeth, culminating in a -unknown- mutual conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Chapter 3, this is going to be interesting…  
>  It'll nearly be New Year when I upload this so, Happy advanced New Year! (Though I'm going to try and get a Fic up by then…)  
>  I hope you guys enjoy reading, feel free to share your thoughts!

It had been a week since Percy had officially moved in and it had been quite the experience so far.

They had usually been at each other’s place, mostly talking about interests and as of recent...Percy rectifying Annabeth’s inability to cook.

“How much can you cook?” He asked when they were scrolling through Netflix for something to watch.

“Enough to make a good enough breakfast,” Annabeth said and Percy’s interest piqued.

“Well give me examples” And she did so.

“Eh, just scrambled eggs and ham-” She was cut off by him exclaiming, “You clearly need a teacher,” He said which earned him a death glare.

“Hey, you started off with those two which, no offense, are one of the most basic things you can cook” Percy explained, shrugging.

“And who do you advise should  _ teach _ me?” She said, an eyebrow raised.

Annabeth should have known she pressed too much when his expression significantly brightened.

“Me of course!” Percy happily said and she resisted the urge to Facepalm.

“And why  _ exactly _ do you say that you can teach me to make ‘better’ food?” Annabeth asked, her pride taking over as their eyes locked.

Percy smirked, “I think the better way is to prove it...how about a cook-off at my place?” He provided.

She scoffed, “Oh please Percy, I’ll go easy for your sake, though what are we going to make?” And there was a glint in his eyes.

“Stir Fry” Was all he said, which confirmed to Annabeth she had  _ indeed _ gone slightly too far. Nonetheless, she would not allow herself to simply back out of this so, when Percy left later, she immediately went to work scrolling through articles with recipes.

She went to bed after finishing a couple of other things on her list before going to sleep, expecting a quick victory tomorrow.

——————————

_ The Next Afternoon, Percy’s apartment _

“I gotta admit ‘Beth, how you made it this bland is beyond me…” Percy said upon tasting her dish.

Annabeth would have been incredulous he said that if it weren’t for the fact she had tasted it and even then she was still surprised.

“I just don’t get what I did wrong though…” She mused, poking her Stir Fry with a fork. On the other hand, when she had tasted Percy’s version, the flavor had exploded in her mouth and she said it tasted good, which admittedly was an understatement.

“I think this shows my case stands,” He said, a grin on his face.

“...I guess, though what do we do with mine?” Annabeth conceded, letting a sigh out as she looked to the platter she had.

“Hmm, I can possibly fix it up...but for now, lunch on me,” Percy said handing her a plate.

“How can you cook so well?” Annabeth as they were midway through their meal.

“I guess it runs in the family, mostly from my mom...though why she hasn’t set up a restaurant is beyond me” Percy mused and Annabeth chuckled. It had been long established how much Percy loved his mother and she always felt at least a small smile come up whenever he talked about her.

“You will have to eventually let me met here” She chided and he looked up from what he was eating.

“The feeling is mutual between you two then...say, are you free next week?” He asked.

“I’ll have to check, the weekend I presume?” Annabeth asked and Percy confirmed with a nod.

“Then I should be free” She assumed.

“Great I’ll tell her later...by the way, how’s the food?” He asked.

“It’s, as much as I hate to admit, it’s absolutely amazing!” She exclaimed.

“Glad to know you like it, oh and that offer for me to teach you in the... _ Jackson ways _ ?” He said, the latter part a whisper.

“I think I’ll take you up on that” Annabeth said and a wide smile took over his face.

They finished eating lunch and then Annabeth excused herself after thanking Percy for the meal.

“No problem, though when do you want to start?” He asked before she went back.

“Hmm, if you’re free tomorrow,” She said.

“I should be, see you then?” He asked.   
  


“Until then” Annabeth confirmed and after that, she headed back to her room, not missing the small wave Percy gave before she did the same and closed her door.

When she entered, she wondered why her cheeks felt warm and summarized it was just the fact she had left the aircon off for most of the day.

Getting on her computer, she continued where she left off yesterday on the Fifth chapter of her story. Considering the halfway mark had been passed, Annabeth was pretty confident that she could slip it out by tomorrow. 

By the time she pryed herself from writing, the Sun was already setting. In exchange for this, she had written so much that the time of release would be later in the evening.

After stretching and standing up, she was about to get herself a snack until she heard her phone ringing.

“Hey, Pipes what’s up?” Annabeth asked as she accepted the call.

“You want to come with us for dinner?” Piper asked on the other side.

“Sure thing, though where are we eating?” She asked while simultaneously getting something to go out with.

“It’s that Japanese place that should be a block away from your place...by the way, I invited Calypso, is that fine?” And Annabeth made a humming noise in response to the information.

“Sure thing I guess, meet you guys there in 30?” She confirmed.

“Absolutely” And Piper hung up.

With her evening now occupied, Annabeth pulled on a pair of Jeans, a casual white shirt, and a coat as the temperature outside was too cool for her standards.

Deciding to walk as it wasn’t that far, she watched as cars sped by and other People crowded the sidewalk. Considering it was late October, she certainly didn’t expect New York to be this chilly which was why she was relieved when she finally made it inside.

When her eyes finished scanning the place and her friends yet to arrive, she took one of the booths and requested the menus.

As she was about to order, she spotted a trio enter the restaurant and waved them over to where she was seated.

“What took you guys so long?” Annabeth asked as they sat down.

“Well excuse you, we are simply  _ fashionably on time _ ” Piper chided.

“I hope I’m not imposing much, joining you guys and all” Calypso said when silence temporarily took over.

“Oh no, it’s completely fine, besides, I was getting bored of those two” Annabeth said, not bothering to whisper. Piper proceeded to playfully smack her on the back and Hazel feigned hurt.

“We’re right here you know?” Hazel said, a pout on her face.

“I know, anyways-” Annabeth said but before she could continue conversing with Calypso, Piper cut her off.

“You ass” Was all she said before the table burst into laughter, earning them odd looks from the other patrons.

“We should order though,” Hazel said once the laughing had died down.

“Sure, oh and Cal, before you ask, you don’t have to pay for now” Calypso stopped any objections she would have said since there was simply no room for them.

Midway through all the Sushi, Udon, and others, Piper casually brought up the subject of Annabeth’s romantic interests.

It was something that they took very carefully all things considered, but eventually, Annabeth was fine with it, she even enjoyed it at times.

“So how’s Percy?” Piper said, which caused Annabeth to look at her quizzically.

“He’s fine? If you’re asking if I’m interested in him then no” She said firmly.

“Then why are you blushing?” Piper innocently asked, which essentially made her blush more prominent.

“I-I’m not blushing!” She stammered though it was no use, especially in the presence of a matchmaker like Piper.

“Uhuh, I think we know the outcome of this, don’t we?” Piper asked, looking to Hazel and Calypso, both nodding their heads.

“I thought we already established I’m not interested in a relationship?” Annabeth asked, pleading to turn the subject somewhere else.

“Yes,  _ but _ , that’s what you  _ said _ , and considering you are better now, I think your feelings are somewhere else” Piper explained and when she finished, the table fell silent, surprise and shock reigning.

“You can deny all you want Annabethbut I know a relationship when I see one” The ominosity not being lost on her.

With that unnerving subject done with, the quartet moved on to less sensitive topics. Their night out sped by quickly and soon enough, the bill was paid and they were outside the place bidding goodbyes.

“Hey, sorry I got all Oracle-ly awhile ago, I tend to get excited over this kind of things” Piper apologized before they split for the evening.

“No problem, it’s understandable-wait did you just reference Greek Mythology?” Annabeth questioned but Piper just gave her a toothy grin and sped off to her car.

Chuckling, Annabeth then hailed an Uber and made her way home. Upon arriving she paid the driver with a tip and beelined straight for the elevator, she would not stand in the freezing night for much longer.

When it arrived on her floor, she made her way to her flat door, unlocked it, and nearly bumped into Percy.

“Sorry Perce,” Annabeth said after the near-collision.

“No problem, also where’d you come from?” He asked.

“Just dinner with friends,” She said, shrugging. Then she noticed the toolbox in Percy’s hand.

He seemed to follow her gaze and explained himself, “Just need to fix something” 

“Well good luck I guess, and good evening,” She said, feeling slightly awkward.

“Yeah, good evening to you too” And with that, he fell back to his room.

Even though he had left, Annabeth lingered a bit longer as an awful possibility crossed her mind.

_ She may just be falling for Percy Jackson _

——————————

_ Wednesday, Percy’s apartment _

The pair had been baking Muffins and were currently waiting for them to finish in the oven. Considering the silence, Percy decided to initiate a conversation.

“So there’s this story I’m following online...” He said and Annabeth took an interest.

“I thought you would be interested, considering it’s very heavily based on Greek Mythology, though it’s still a work in progress…” Percy said.

“Who’s the writer?” She inquired.

“I think it’s something along the lines of  _ WiseGirl12 _ , I could be wrong though” But when he finished, he saw a whole mixture of emotions pass her face from surprise to confusion to unbelieving.

“Everything all right?” He asked, worry taking over.

“It’s just...yeah I’m fine,” She said, though Percy perfectly knew she was lying, deciding not to ask what she was going to say.

Thankfully, the ding of the Oven broke the odd tension overhead and they went to recover the Muffins.

“Hey, the smell good and look good so far,” Percy said as he brought them out. Considering them currently, it seemed as Annabeth had done a relatively good job.

“Mhm, it tastes just right as well” She added after she snatched one from the tray while it was still warm.

“Yeah, well done Annabeth,” Percy said and when she happily beamed at him, his mind just went into overdrive at how cute that was.

Wait that was new,  _ That was probably the first time he subconsciously regarded her as cute _ . Though before Percy could continue that line of thought Annabeth asked, “Is it fine if I take some of these home?”

Percy chuckled, “You can take all of them home for all I care”

“Nah, I’ll just take the majority of these, you can have like...four,” She said and they shared a laugh at how unbalanced it was.

“Sure thing, though we may end up eating a few more,” He said, and that they did along with Orange juice Percy pulled out the Ref.

“What’s your account name on that website?” Annabeth asked out of the blue and it took Percy a while to realize what she asking.

“Oh, you mean where I read the story?” He assumed and was answered with a nod.

“... _ CookiesRLife _ , yeah that should be it,” Percy said after a bit of a recall.

“Alright, hold on real quick,” Annabeth said, bringing out her phone and rapidly typed something.

“Check your message requests now” She ordered and he obliged, opening his phone and navigating to the website. Sure enough, there was a message that read:

_ From User: WiseGirl07 _

_ The number is 07, not 12 _

Percy stared in disbelief between his phone’s screen and Annabeth with her shit-eating grin and smug pose.

“Is this why you were Nervous awhile ago?” He questioned when he finally wrapped his mind around it.

“Yeah, then and an idea came around so, here we are,” She said, shrugging, though the grin had barely left her face.

“And you didn’t bother to tell me?!” He exclaimed, though simultaneously bemused.

“I’m pretty sure I mentioned it in passing” She retorted.

Percy leaned against the counter,  _ this was certainly neat _ , he reasoned.

“Can I convince you too-” But before he could broadcast his idea, Annabeth immediately shut him down saying, “You can not convince me to write faster” As if she read his mind.

“Can I at least know what’s coming” And his idea was denied once again by Annabeth.

“Absolutely not Percy, I will not spoil anything that I’m writing about,” Annabeth said with a huff, a small frown forming on her face, that Percy had to say was just incredibly  _ adorable _ -

Again?!

He reasoned that he was just tired and would go to sleep earlier tonight. Though a small minority in his head chided that was not exhaustion causing these thoughts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone’s been doing fine so far, and that recently hasn’t been that bad.  
>  Kinda went a bit ham on this, but hey…also I may resort to weekly uploads after the holiday season ends due to classes.  
>  Happy New Year once again and thanks for reading this Chapter!


	4. Comfort and Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy's is just really, Really, supportive, Sally and Piper are both shipping him and Annabeth and -He- makes an appearance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, hope 2021’s been good to you all so far.  
> As I mentioned at the end of the 3rd chapter, I’ll be uploading weekly, every weekend which should mean that I can close this fic by the last month of January.  
> Aside from that short update, that’s all, hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> PS: Threw in some violence in this, if that ain’t your thing, just skip after the related scenes. Oh and language warning I guess

Annabeth had known Piper for long enough that she couldn’t imagine what life would be without her, which meant she knew practically everything about her.

Except for how she could read people so well.

It had been a day after her _interesting_ realization, which had yet to escape her mind when she decided to invite Piper over to talk about it. 

“Well it took you long enough” She mused when Annabeth breached the subject.

As Annabeth considered kicking her out, Piper continued, “In the few times I’ve seen you two in a room, you tend to stare at him like a love-sick puppy, which is why I’m surprised you’ve started having feelings now!” She exclaimed and Annabeth resisted the urge to smack her, grumbling instead.

“I asked you to come over to _help_ with what to do, and you clearly aren’t,” She said and Piper conceded after laughing at her expense.

“Alright, alright...considering you’re still unsure after, _that_ , I recommend not doing anything at all for the moment” Piper concluded, and Annabeth agreed.

Mostly.

Nonetheless, Annabeth decided for now that her concerns weren’t quite justified as of yet and went along.

“You’re the expert...anyways how’s Jason?” She asked and Piper’s eyes lit up.

“Well, just the regular events, oh and her asked me if we could do sex and might I add, sex with Jason Grace is absolutely divine-” Before Piper could continue her recollection, Annabeth brought her to a stop.

Her face on fire at the events she had just been told, “PIPER! I did not need this” She exclaimed and Piper just chuckled.

“Sorry, you did ask how he was...Speaking of which, I think Percy likes you too” And Annabeth looked up from rubbing her temple.

“You lie” She plainly said, deadpanning in the process.

“Honestly I thought you were bad but Percy, Percy’s a completely different story, he stares at you for long enough that the fact you haven’t caught him begs the question...do you allow it?” Piper asked, and the blush on Annabeth’s face that had been slowly subsiding now came back ten times more prominent.

“NO! I didn’t even know about it” Annabeth retorted and Piper laughed.

“I can’t wait for you two to become a couple, oh, and I’ll be going, date and all” Piper hurriedly said as she waltzed out the door before Annabeth could strangle her. 

Now left on her own, Annabeth considered heading over to Percy’s but decided that she would take a short nap considering how much that discussion with Piper sapped her. 

Pulling back to her room and flopping on the bed, she mulled over the possibility that the very small side of her’s crush on Percy _may_ be mutual, but she dismissed it as too outlandish and instead closed her eyes and relaxed into her pillows, soon falling asleep

—————

_2 Hours Later_

Percy was incredibly excited about introducing Annabeth to his mother and he wasn’t sure _why_. Well naturally he was excited since, someone he now considered a best friend, being introduced to his amazing mother.

But this wasn’t the first time he had introduced a girl to his mother, far from it in fact, and those were of relationships past.

So why this felt like a bigger deal than usual was beyond him, but nonetheless felt that Annabeth and Sally Jackson would get along perfectly.

Well as long as it wasn’t at his expense.

As he sat on his couch, fiddling with a model of a Blue Whale, he heard a knock on his door. Beckoning them to come in, the person turned out to be Annabeth.

“Sorry I missed our session today,” She said while seating herself across from him.

“It’s fine, wasn’t actually in the mood today” Percy and she nodded understandingly.

“So why’d you come over?” He asked.

“Well, I thought you’d have something to show me today and I was bored” She explained.

“Oh, and where’d you get that whale?” She continued, eyeing the mammal in his hands.

“Rainbow? I just bought her off Amazon, she’s quite the nice model” Percy said and Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

“You have things for Whales?” She asked, getting a scoff from him.

“Not just Whales, just marine animals in general...when I was younger, I and my mom would watch these nature documentaries and there some of my most cherished memories with her plus that’s where my interest for marine animals started,” Percy said, a glint in his eyes as his voice was of plain happiness.

“All this talk about your mother makes me even more excited to meet tomorrow,” Annabeth said, the mood being contagious as a smile formed on her mouth.

“Oh very, you may even get a few takeaways from her, and maybe you can go to her for cooking advice” The moment that left his mouth, he instantly rebuked the latter phrase, “Actually wait don’t” Which caused Annabeth to laugh.

“Relax Percy, it’s significantly more economical for me that you do the teaching,” She said but instead his brow furrowed.

“So you’re implying that if you moved to her place you’d do go to her instead for advice?” He asked, playfully pouting.

“Of course, considering that’s where your expertise came from,” She said, shrugging.

“You wound me ‘Beth, you wound me,” He said, a hand clutching his chest in fake pain.

Playfully rolling her eyes, “Anyways, you mind if I eat dinner here? I kinda forgot to restock my fridge” She said.

“Oh yeah sure, how does Chicken sound like?” He answered with a bit more enthusiasm than needed.

——————————

_The next Morning_

As Percy woke up, his arm felt heavy and tired. Sitting up, he tried to remember what he did before going to bed. 

He remembered dinner with Annabeth, exchanging conversations, then mentioning Wine, bringing out the Wine, drinking the Wine and- oh that’s right.

He only had several shots but Annabeth had, she had drunk enough that the bottle was probably at half capacity and thus had passed out. Percy being, not drunk gently carried and set her on his couch and then went off to sleep.

He reasoned that she would probably have gone back to her room but this train of thought was cut short when he heard snoring from the living room.

Walking over, he found the Blonde beauty that was his flatmate still knocked out cold, comfortably snoring as she bundled in the blanket Percy had spared.

He had been admiring her for long enough that she had already begun to shift around in her place. Taking this as his signal to get moving, he prepared some tea for the both of them as well as some toast.

“Urg, Percy?” Annabeth said as she entered the dining room.

“Mornin’, how’re you feeling?” He asked as she sat herself down on one of the chairs.

“Slight headache, why am I in your house though?” She responded, propping her head up with one of her hands.

Handing her a cup of tea, he explained, “You kinda got drunk last night and passed out...and for the record, you didn’t say anything stupid” Percy reassured, though the ‘ _I think_ ’ part was heavily implied.

“...oh, thanks anyways for this” Annabeth said, as she practically chugged the tea then took a massive bite out of the buttered toast.

“No problem, although you should get ready after, we’ll leave an hour before twelve ‘cause, y’know, _traffic_ ” He lamented and she nodded.

“M’kay...you have any more?” She asked regarding the toast.

“Yeah, here,” Percy said, handing her another pair of slices. The pair ate and finished breakfast after which Annabeth went back to her room.

A small smile was on Percy’s lips as he imagined a life like this with Annabeth, simple domestic events where he might as well forget the outside world.

And he didn’t even bother to object.

—————

_An hour later_ ,

Annabeth was having a crisis.

She didn’t know what t wear.

Of course, she had also brought this up with Piper yesterday and had been given a firm answer, the only problem was how much she was double thinking. On her bed lay three sets of clothes she had pulled from her wardrobe.

She was tempted to call Piper up, just so that she could decide faster but an idea came to mind.

Getting the blouse button-up Piper had given her then taking the Jeans she had brought out, paired these two together, and soon enough, she had an outfit that even she was fine enough with.

Considering that there was still some time before she and Percy left, her mind drifted to the nature of Sally Jackson.

While she had heard numerous tales of her, plus Percy’s many reassurances, Annabeth had a feeling that she may not be greeted with the most positive of reception. Nonetheless, she tried to push these thoughts out of her head.

She was eventually brought out of her mental debate when Percy knocked on her door saying, “Hey we’re going to leave now” followed by footsteps moving past.

Leaving her room and locking the door behind her, she found Percy waiting for her by the elevator.

“You ready?” He asked as they went down to the parking lot.

“As ready as I can be,” Annabeth said. 

“For the last time ‘Beth, she’s going to love you,” Percy said as they entered his car and with that, Annabeth’s worries decided to cease.

When the pair were holed up in traffic, Percy decided to bring something up out of nowhere.

“His name’s Blackjack,” He said and Annabeth turned to him incredulous and confused.

“The Car’s name is Blackjack and yes, it’s a _he,_ ” Percy said.

“I see….but why though?” She asked as the traffic resumed movement.

“I just like to name things, especially if it’s important” Percy explained and she nodded in understanding.

They continued on the road in relative silence, only with the music, which was Annabeth’s choice, playing.

They eventually arrived at Sally Jackson’s apartment and Annabeth felt some of her previous anxiousness returning. Percy, somehow sensing this, gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as they rang the doorbell.

Before Annabeth could register the person who opened the door, she was quickly caught in an embrace.

“Annabeth! It’s so good to finally meet you!” The person in question said, upon pulling back was none other than Sally Jackson.

After temporary being surprised, Annabeth smiled and greeted back, “It’s also great to meet you too Miss Jackson”

“Oh please, call my Sally, _Miss Jackson_ is way too formal for my taste,” Sally said, who then ushered the pair in.

“So mom, where’s Paul and Estelle?” Percy asked as they got acquainted by the living room.

“Oh they just went out for a bit, but they should be back soon...anyways, how’s everything between you both? Percy doesn’t nearly give enough updates about his life” Sally inquired.

“Well, he’s been teaching me how to cook, and I’d say we're close friends” Annabeth piped up and Sally shot a quick glare before turning her attention to him, asking, “And you didn’t bother to tell me this?”

Percy, now suddenly in the spotlight, brought up a quick retort saying, “I was planning to!” He was met by a scoff from his mother.

“I think he means he forgot” Annabeth provided and both females had a laugh as Percy’s frowned, probably in disagreement.

“Although, are you sure you guys aren’t more than _Close Friends_?” Sally asked a mischievous smile on her lips as both their went cheeks flushed red.

“N-NO!” Percy and Annabeth simultaneously exclaimed.

“Heh, if that’s what you say…” Sally said and Annabeth was mortified, a glance at Percy could say he was in the same situation.

Thankfully for the two, Paul and Estelle arrived, putting a halt to Sally’s teasing.

“PERCY!” Estelle exclaimed as she ran over and tackled her big brother into a hug.

“How’s my favorite sister in the world?” He asked and Estelle actually frowned instead.

“But I’m your only sister” She pointed out.

“Which solidifies my case…” He said then whispered a few things too which she responded with a firm head shake.

“Anyways, I think we all have lunch to eat?” Paul said and Sally scooted back to the kitchen to bring out the food.

They then moved into the dining room where Sally and Percy set the dishes and plates.

Sally had cooked up a small feast for the five of them, Scallops, Pork chops, and rice were the primary dishes.

Annabeth noticed a bottle of Blue Coke and couldn’t help but smile inwardly. She had come around to appreciate Percy’s religion of Blue foods and enjoyed it from time to time.

“So I heard you write?” Paul asked as they began.

“Mmhm, Greek mythology” Annabeth said in sealing some food.

“I’d love to read it if you don’t mind” Sally provided.

Considering this, Annabeth gave her answer, “Sure, I can give the link later...although it’s not yet finished” She said, if Percy already read her content, this was simply an extension.

“I don’t mind, in fact, in a way, it makes it more exciting,” Paul said and Annabeth had to agree with that.

Whilst in the conversation, Estelle turned to Annabeth, asking, “Are you and Percy a couple?” 

The innocent question caught the whole table unprepared as surprised silence lapsed over. Eventually, Percy spoke up, “Estelle you can’t ask questions like that!” Slightly mortified his younger sister was capable of such questions.

“Awww, so you two aren’t-” Estelle said, pointing between the two, disappointed.

“No dear, they aren’t a couple...just yet,” Sally said, the last part just loud enough for Percy and Annabeth to hear.

Annabeth summarized she had been brought into a trap that would only end if she left, which she actually had no intention of doing.

The teasing did eventually die down and instead, they conversed over the heavenly food, courtesy of Sally Jackson.

“I may just move in here,” Annabeth said to Percy as they sat in the living room after eating.

“But it’ll be lonely there,” Percy pointed out.

“Eh, you’ll be fine, besides you can just call over one of your friends,” She said and Percy deadpanned.

“And what, have them make out in the presence of a single man? Absolutely not” He said, huffing and crossing his arms.

“Beats me, the number of times Piper brought a boy over when I was crashing with her was just insane,” Annabeth said, reminiscing.

—————

_An Hour and a half later,_

The pair were currently on the road back to their apartment. They had a fun afternoon, mostly centered around the ball of energy that was Estelle. After bidding goodbye and a promise to visit more frequently, they had headed off and were now stuck in traffic, _again_.

“I don’t think I want to do a relationship” Percy heard Annabeth murmur.

“What do you mean?” He asked, startling her.

“I-it’s just that the last time I did that...I’d rather not talk about it” She said her voice but a hush.

Percy, rightfully deciding to not pry, offered his free hand to give her a rub on the back. Since she didn’t decide to object to the action, he took it that he was being helpful.

“It was back in June,” She said after a few minutes of just driving.

“That you guys…?” Percy asked inquisitively.

“Yeah, probably one of the worst days in my life, I kinda swore I’d never get into a relationship after that” Annabeth said, chuckling.

Percy’s mind swelled with questions like if she still wasn’t interested but decided that now would be a terrible time so decided to provide comfort.

“Fucking asshole,” He said.

“What?” Annabeth asked as if she didn’t hear it right.

“ _He_ , whoever he is, is an Ass...” Percy lamented and then continued, “...for deciding that you aren’t worth his time, which is honestly Bull shit, considering that you have so much going for you...you’re intelligent, fun to have around, funny, and not mention an amazing writer!” He exclaimed and when she was about to say something, he cut her off.

“If you’re about to say something depreciative I’ll stop you right there, you forgot about your flaws, even just for today, and focus on your better aspects, besides...” Percy said, pausing momentarily to properly park the car, “We wouldn’t my Lil’ rant to be canceled out would we?”

After that, Percy properly looked at Annabeth since starting the rant. Her expression was of pure surprise as tears began to well up in her eyes.

Just as Percy began considering this may not have been his greatest idea to date, Annabeth embraced him from her side and the tears let themselves down.

“Thank you, Percy...you have no idea how much this means to me” She softly mumbled into his shoulder, which was now damp.

“Hey, you deserve it alright,” He said, returning the gesture.

They stayed like that for several moments, neither breaking the content Peace they were in. Eventually, they pulled away as Annabeth wiped away what tears still remained.

As they walked into the apartment, Percy had an idea, “Hey, I’ll get us some popcorn and drinks then we can do some binge-watching”

“Sure thing, meet you in your room?” She asked

“Nah, we’ll do it at your place, just put a movie series, anything,” He said and when she lightly laughed, Percy was content knowing he had managed to lift her spirits.

With that, they split for the moment as Percy went to buy a couple of things.

—————

_Several Minutes later_

As Annabeth rode the elevator up, she was quite in a happy mood considering Percy’s emotionally supportive rant awhile ago.

As the elevator opened, she was about to make a beeline for the door but was stopped short by the person waiting.

Luke Castellan.

“Annabeth, it’s been some time, how are you?” He asked as he eyed her.

“If it’s a second chance you want, you ain’t getting it,” Annabeth said, getting straight to the point and ready to walk right past him.

“And what makes you say that?” He asked once more, the distance closing.

“You broke my heart Luke, not again” She declared, storming past him. As she entered the hallway that divided her and Percy’s room a firm hand gripped her shoulder.

“I think this ought to change your mind,” He said whilst pushing her against the wall, trapping her hands in his own.

She was about to deliver a shin-based blow to his Groin before his legs outmaneuvered hers and prevented a counterattack.

As Luke began to close for a kiss, Annabeth decided on...ahead but.

Which worked, as Annabeth’s forehead impacted his puckered out lips. He recoiled from the sudden pain as Annabeth made a fallback.

“You ain’t getting away so easily,” He said as he sent a slap across her cheek.

_Thwack_

The stun effect registering immediately, what also was registering was how much that hurt and stung.

Before Luke could make another move, a third voice made its presence known, “So you’re that ass” 

And as Luke turned to look at the person was…

**_Crunch_**

And that was the sound of a nose being broken.

“Now, unless you want something else to break, I recommend you scram!” Percy said, fully intent on delivering another decisive blow should the need arise.

Luke decided that preservation of his vital parts was necessary and did the rightful thing of actually scramming.

With him gone, Percy visually relaxed, then turned to Annabeth.

“I’m _so_ fucking sorry ‘Beth,” He said, looking as distraught as Annabeth probably was.

“It’s fine Percy, I’m fine Kay? It was your timing that helped, also you breaking my EX’s nose was pretty nice of you” She admitted but his expression didn’t change.

“Well your fine _now_ , but what if I was later, what if he’d locked you guys in your room, I can’t get into there what if-” He rambled.

“Percy, shut up right now” Annabeth cut him off and continued, “Now in light of recent events...can we please just binge-watch movies until dinner?” She pleaded.

“Of course, lemme just get what we’re having,” Percy said as he retreated to the door where he had dropped their snacks.

“I’m still sorry,” Percy said as they settled into the couch.

“But it’s fine” Annabeth reaffirmed.

“Still though, I can’t forgive myself for what could have happened” He stated and Annabeth wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that.

What she was sure about though, she’d need a McLean-type one-on-one session soon, but that was another date, for now, she could forget for the moment that her EX had just attempted to take her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Chapter 4!  
> Quite long but hey, I hoped it was enjoyable,  
> Also, I don’t necessarily write this kind of smackdown, so any thoughts for refinement would be appreciated!  
> Aside from that, I hope everything is fine on everyone’s end, until next time!
> 
> Oh and Reviews will be gladly accepted


	5. Aftermath and Enlightenment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper doing her job as the (Percabeth) Matchmaker  
> Annabeth has been smiled on by the fates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, back with Chapter 5!  
> It’s not going to be as long as the previous installment but enough for me to cover the aftermath. (Piper plays an important part here)  
> That’s as much as I’ll give away since it’s everything I know from my outline(I don’t draft for the record).  
> Anything else will be in the endnotes, enjoy reading!

“PIPER KILL IT!” Annabeth screamed as she stood atop the couch.

“I CAN’T SEE IT THOUGH!” Responded Piper, armed with a random magazine. The prompt in question was a decently-sized Spider that had made its appearance known as it scurried around on Annabeth’s coffee table.

“IT’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, KILL IT!” Annabeth screamed once again.

Piper caught sight of it and sent a firm smack, although missing slightly meant that the Spider fell back in retreat.

“It’s gone,” Piper said as she sat back down on the sofa chair.

“No, it just ran away it’s probably under the carpet right now,” Annabeth said, though sitting back down nonetheless.

“What were we talking about before the Spider” She continued.

“Just about how we should have Percy come around, especially for your sake,” Piper said, a sly smile on her lips.

“I’m not that hopeless” Annabeth mumbled and Piper couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Besides, I think proper congratulations are in place…especially after that _Bastard_ tried to take you back” Piper growled, her teasing demeanor replaced by hate.

“Eh, I mean I’ve even offered to treat him and he yesterday and he declined, so I think he’s already good, besides he wasn’t too keen on the whole breaking his nose,” Annabeth said, remembering the little heart-to-heart session they had a few hours after the encounter.

“Well I think, if he’s going to become your boyfriend and eventual husband, I should get to know him more” And just like that, Piper’s teasing had returned full force as Annabeth’s face was now beat red.

Before she could retort though, a knock on the door stopped Annabeth as she thought, _Speak of the Devil, and he shall come_.

Piper gave a knowing wink and headed to open the door.

Sure enough, Percy was at the door, a confused expression on his face.

“Uh, I heard shouting then it suddenly stopped, is everything alright?” He asked.

“Yeah, it was just a Spider,” Piper said as his eyebrows furrowed.

“Wait, am I missing some context?” He asked and Annabeth felt like Piper was not about to be so generous to her.

“Yeah, come in first and I’ll give a full explanation” Piper ushered and Percy obliged.

Annabeth shot Piper a pleading face but was met with a firm head shake. 

“Annabeth has a _severe_ Phobia of Spiders since she was...7?” Piper said, cutting straight to the point, Percy taking in this information surprisingly well.

“ _Traitor_ ” Annabeth hissed.

“Eh, he probably would have found out sooner or later,” Piper remarked, her voice hushed. After saying this Percy spoke up, asking, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone else this, right?”

“Please” Annabeth immediately said before Piper added something to continue the fire that was the blush on her cheeks.

“I didn’t have any intention too” Percy responded and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well that’s nice and all, I’ll go and make us something for the afternoon” And as Piper got up, Annabeth resisted the urge to Facepalm. It was bad enough she and Percy were apparently her favorite couple.

The feeling wasn’t even mutual, or so she thought.

“So what were you doing before coming here?” Annabeth asked.

“Was considering napping honestly” Percy said, shrugging.

After a few moments of silence, Percy spoke up once more, “I had a Phobia of drowning” And Annabeth stared at him, bewildered.

“I thought you swam though,” She asked, still surprised about the info given to her. This one of the many topics they had discussed when they were in the same room, but this was completely new to her.

“Oh certainly, but it just went away gradually as my ability improved” He explained.

“So are you suggesting ways of ridding me of my fear of Spiders?” Annabeth asked.

Percy’s lips then formed into the goofy smile that told Annabeth, _yes he had thought of this_.

“Now I’m just going to put this out there but...how about owning a Spider?” He suggested.

“No Percy,” Annabeth said, deadpanning.

“But it’ll just be in a-” He tried to convince her but was cut off.

“No buts,” She said, brow furrowing.

“But-” Percy attempted a last-ditch effort but once again was shut down.

“ _No_ ” And with that, she effectively left no spare room for objections.

It was at this moment Piper strode back into the room, carrying a plate of Grilled Cheese sandwiches.

“Sorry I took a bit long, and for using up your Cheese,” Piper said as she set the plates down.

“It’s fine, I can just buy some tomorrow...or raid a certain someone for it” Annabeth mused.

“Hey! You can just ask for the stuff” Percy said, pouting at the fact Annabeth considered that an option.

“True, true” She shrugged, biting into her sandwich.

The trio entered a casual conversation, with Piper, much to Annabeth’s relief, lessening her attempts at getting a confession out from her and Percy.

Eventually, Percy headed back to his place as he remembered he had a few things to finish after eating 3 of the sandwiches.

With Percy out of the room, Piper turned to Annabeth.

“At your current rate, you won’t need me to pull matchmaker” Piper explained, as if it was the simplest concept in the world.

Annabeth’s initial reaction was that of shock and surprise, although followed by a part that was for once _giddy_ at this prospect.

Then there was the larger majority of her that was completely and utterly terrified.

While she responded to Piper with a nod and hum, her mind was elsewhere. She _knew_ for a fact that Percy was a good, heck even great person, but then that was how her initial perception of Luke was and where that got her... _well_ , she was understandably cautious.

“Honestly, there’s not much to be scared about him...he certainly doesn’t seem to have any other agendas” Piper shrugged as if reading Annabeth’s mind.

“I’ll...think about it,” She said and Piper accepted that.

“Good, message me when you have your mindset, and remember, I respect any choice you make,” Piper said, patting Annabeth on the back as she stood up.

“Now if you excuse me, Jason awaits,” She said and Annabeth bid her a goodbye hug.

With Annabeth now alone, she decided that she could do some writing and think about her inner conflict later, for now, she had a chapter to finish.

——————————

_The Next Day_ ,

_Looks like Annabeth pulled an all-nighter_ , Percy thought, chuckling as he read the date posted of the seventh chapter in Annabeth’s ongoing story.

Taking a sip of the Coffee, he nearly spat it back out when he read one of the lines.

Rash decision clouding his better judgment, he was soon knocking on Annabeth’s door, hoping she was awake.

“Good lord Percy, what do you need?” Annabeth asked as she opened the door, groggy and slight cranky at the sudden intrusion.

“You can’t kill off a main character like that!” He exclaimed.

Blinking several times as her mind processed what he had just said, she responded simply with “But I can though”

“Fair, but we’re still so early into the story,” Percy said, pouting.

Annabeth gave a thoughtful look then gave her answer, “We can talk about it later, let me have breakfast first...oh and please don’t make this a commonality” She said before heading back inside.

Percy decided to do the same thing headed back to his cup of coffee, now mildly warm, and his blue pancakes.

After finishing what he had, Annabeth sent a text that she was done freshening up and that he could come over to discuss, and soon enough they were seated in Annabeth’s living room.

“I’ll get straight to the point Percy, _I_ have the creative freedom to do these things, besides, the guy wasn’t that important to the plot” Annabeth explained.

“But...why couldn’t you have gone with a major character death at a later date though?” Percy questioned, frowning.

“As I said he wasn’t that important to the plot and I really couldn’t find a need for him,” She said, shrugging.

“You could have just sent him off, too, I dunno, somewhere!” He exclaimed, throwing up his arms.

“Hmm, good point,” She said nonchalantly, shrugging once more.

Percy sighed and then decided that he might as well move on and see if he could get any details from Annabeth on the next chapter.

“So what do you plan for the Eighth chapter?” He asked.

“Well...I’m going to try to have a reunion, I’m not saying between who _but_ , they were former loves, although, I don’t really have any idea how to write that in” She explained, a bit flustered considering she was used to having a basis for everything.

Percy considered this and an idea popped into his head, “I dated Calypso before” He said and Annabeth stared at him, shocked.

“Hey, we ended on a good note, got past that, and are now friends, I think that should be a good enough reference” Percy explained.

“I-uh, alright...thanks though,” Annabeth said, clearly still surprised by the information.

“No problem, and hey, feel free to add in the fact that one of them is still, _unfortunately_ , single” Percy said, chuckling.

Now Annabeth had learned a little thing about Percy, over the times they had talked, and that was how he had an ability to self-depreciate himself, which always had its own tone whenever he spoke.

The said tone was present and Annabeth began thinking(Read: Hoping) that Piper was onto something.

“Does Leo know about this?” She asked.

“Yeah, heck, it apparently was one of the first things she told him” Percy explained.

“Huh, thanks again for this though...what do you want to do now?” Annabeth asked, after writing a few things down on a notepad.

“You wanna watch a movie to pass the time?” He offered and soon enough the starting credits were rolling with a bowl of popcorn, between them.

Soon though, as the movie progressed, it wasn’t sound effects that could be heard.

Percy was suddenly startled by a weight on his shoulder. Upon looking, he found out it was Annabeth, out cold and lightly snoring.

Pausing the movie and turning off the TV, he attempted to move but she shifted, which meant she would probably wake up if he got up.

He decided he would let her nap, and this wasn’t so bad, he reasoned.

—————

_An Hour Later,_

Annabeth was awake and apparently, she had slept through the movie.

Oh and she had slept on Percy’s shoulder, there’s that too. 

While this had happened several times already, she was embarrassed nonetheless.

“Hey Perce, what time is it?” She asked.

“Huh, oh hey ‘Beth, it’s just turned twelve by the way,” He said, turning to look down at her and then continue, “How was your little nap?” 

“It was good, I didn’t realize how sleepy I was,” She admitted.

“Just don’t upload that late and we should be fine,” Percy said, his voice hinting at some passive-aggression.

“Of course Percy, and that’s a promise,” She said, playfully rolling her eyes.

“Good, now do you want to order in or cook something?” He asked.

“Let’s just order something,” Annabeth said and Percy brought out his phone, dialing in a restaurant they frequented.

“Hey, I’ll just use the bathroom, be right back” And Percy excused himself to the bathroom in his apartment.

Annabeth was about to point out he had left his phone but curiosity took control when she saw the conversation he had left on with...Grover?

Picking up the phone, Grover was apparently coaxing Percy into something, so she decided to do some back-reading.

And she wasn’t sure if that was a great idea.

Well, it sorta was, consider...

... _Her feelings were mutual_! She shouted in her head.

This was amazing, she just wanted...she didn’t know what to do, considering how giddy she was. Only for it come crashing down as reality had its presence reaffirmed 

She was pretty sure and highly doubted Percy would have any background motive and through enough back-reading this sort of confirmed that, then there was the fact that he was quite the kind, wholehearted person unless that was-

She shook those thoughts out of her head, she needed someone to make sure her mind was in the right place.

Closing his phone as if nothing happened, she pulled out her phone and quickly opened the messenger.

She needed Piper, _ASAP._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a bit late, sorry about that.  
> But hey, at least the relationship is finally shooting off, right?  
> Thanks for reading this installment guys, the fact that people read my stuff(Let along send in Kudos and reviews) makes me incredibly happy, so thank you all for that!  
> See you all for Chapter 6!
> 
> (By the way, has my grammar been alright per chapter? Just something I’d like to know, because, I myself am not entirely sure)


	6. PercaBest-Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've done it, the madlads finally did it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly surprised we’re now at Chapter 6...wew  
> I started this in December and it’s been over a month since then...  
> And also here begins the actual Fluff, because I have been, not so patiently, waiting to begin writing this part(Hey, the burn also affects me).  
> Cutting this short for now, everything else will be in the endnotes, thanks for reading as always!

As Annabeth frantically texted Piper on the current events, she nearly didn’t hear Percy re-enter the room.

_ Nearly _ .

And it would have been a disaster incarnate if she hadn’t. 

“Did you hear if the food arrived?” He asked, sitting down.

“It hasn’t yet, and I would have received a Notification,” She said and he nodded.

“So...weird question but, what’s your ideal relationship?” Percy asked, his question from out of the blue.

Setting aside her confusion, Annabeth decided on answering the question. After a bit of pondering she gave her answer, “Well, I’d certainly like to cuddle up on Winter nights then...Hmm, I just want a happy relationship, sure we may have arguments, but we resolve those relatively fast and...yeah, something along those lines” She finished and Percy had a thoughtful look on his face.

“...You certainly have high standards ‘Beth” Percy joked.

“You asked, now what about you?” Annabeth asked back and Percy’s chuckling suddenly stopped.

“...uh, do I have to answer this?” And the stern glare Annabeth gave him told him the answer.

Sighing, he did as was asked, “Well, it’s sort of the like yours, happy and wholesome…” He said, then mumbled something else that Annabeth didn’t quite catch.

“Louder Perce, I can’t hear if you mumble” She chided.

“I-I would…like to sp-spend it with you,” He said under his breath, that Annabeth was  _ just _ able to hear it.

A few minutes of awkward silence lapsed between the two, as they both weren’t sure how to respond and equally surprised by Percy’s response, Percy himself moreso.

“You really mean it?” Annabeth asked, her question innocent but carrying a great deal of weight.

“Yes,” Percy replied immediately.

“...I’ll give it some thought for now,” She said and as Percy’s face showed signs of disappointment, Annabeth immediately rushed to back her statement, “Seriously Perce, like I really am considering...can you just give me some time?”

“If you say so ‘Beth...now I think we should have lunch, this emotional exchange is making me hungry,” Percy said, and as he said this, the doorbell rang.

“I have my ways” He slyly explained as went to receive the food.

As he retrieved and paid for their lunch, Annabeth frantically texted Piper once more as she collected her thoughts.

**Piper:** _ Wait, so he essentially confessed, genuinely confessed? _

**(12:01pm)**

**You:** _ In a way? It solidifies the fact that at least the feeling is mutual _

**(12:01pm)**

**Piper:** _ I say go with it, get back to him after lunch _

**(12:02pm)**

**You:** _ Thanks Piper, really _

__ **(12:02pm)**

**Piper:** _ No problem, though I and Jason call dibs on the first double-date _

**(12:02pm)**

Annabeth laughed a bit at that last text, then went off to assist Percy. They brought out the food and began to eat after that.

Lunch was slightly awkward as the very limited small talk was exchanged for both of their minds were focused elsewhere.

—————

_ Half an Hour Later, _

__ “So Percy...I think I’ve made up my mind” Annabeth said, startling Percy and taking him back into reality.

“Huh? Oh right, right…” He responded, simultaneously excited and horrified of the words to come out her mouth.

Moving to a chair beside him, this prompted two things to happen in quick succession. One was Annabeth whispering into his ear, “Love you too” followed swiftly by him turning around and delivering a kiss to her cheek, that was really supposed to be on the lips.

Nonetheless though, as Annabeth’s cheeks blushed heavily and signs of being flustered showed, Percy thought that was indeed worth it.

“Seaweed Brain...good timing” She mumbled beneath her breath, but since they were still close, he heard her statement nonetheless.

“What can I say? I’m a Romantic” Percy responded, which had them both chuckle.

They moved to a more comfortable position where Annabeth wasn’t standing and took it from there.

“What now? I’m not the most versed on the start…” Annabeth admitted from her position.

“Well, I’d say a date is in place...if you’re fine with that of course” Percy declared, taking her answer into consideration.

“It’s Thursday today...Sunday then?” Annabeth provided, on board with the idea.

Percy’s smile grew tenfold and following a giddy “Fine by me!” Pecked her on the cheek once again.

“You’re really going to have to stop that,” Annabeth said, pouting cutely.

“And what’s stopping me?” He asked, prompting her to answer.

But before she could get said answer out, he,  _ once again _ , sneaked another kiss, this time to her forehead.

“No one, and besides, you enjoy it” Percy snarkily provided, quite proud of his self-comeback.

Annabeth’s already red face colored, even more, giving her the look of a Tomato.

“See, one of the rare times I’m correct!” Percy exclaimed.

“Shut up and kiss me again Seaweed Brain” Annabeth grumbled and Percy happily obliged.

“Now, it’s relatively early in the afternoon, what do you want to do?” Annabeth asked, looking up at him.

Percy knew that pushing too hard early in a relationship was bad, and that was from experience, the kisses were teasing and they weren’t anything fancy, quick pecks on the cheeks and forehead was all, so he decided not to push for the moment.

“I wouldn’t mind having a nap” He provided offhandedly.

“I guess...not another movie or anything?” She asked and Percy thought he heard a hint of hope in her voice, but dismissed it for the meanwhile.

“Eh, maybe a movie...you do know It’ll end in me sleeping throughout it though, right?” He said.

“Not if it’s  _ Finding Nemo _ ” Annabeth declared and that’s how they found themselves on the couch.

“You had to play this on me now, did you?” He asked, although his voice teasing.

“Of course Perce, besides is it bad I want to spend time with...my boyfriend,” Annabeth said, chuckling.

After she said that though, something clicked in him. 

The fact that he would be able to dedicate his life to her just filled Percy with absolute happiness. As Annabeth snuggled his shoulder, he began to envision a future with each other.

Of course both of them being Twenty-two years old, there was still much time to think about their future.

For the meanwhile, he enjoyed her company and let one of his favorite movies play. He could certainly get behind this.

——————————

_ Friday Evening, _

“Piper can't we head back now, I think you’ve gotten too excited for your own good” Annabeth reprimanded.

The two had been out the whole day at the local mall due to Piper’s behest and since Annabeth had in fact for  _ some _ help.

Apparently,  _ some _ help for Piper meant touring the entire clothing department all while releasing dating advice, as if Annabeth hadn’t dated before.

“It’s not my fault you’ve declined nearly all of my suggestions for you” Piper chided back.

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t be lugging around two bags and a third coming…” Annabeth mumbled under her breath.

The pair entered one of the few remaining clothing stores they had yet to go through.

“Hey Pipes, I think I like this one” Annabeth points out to an Orange blouse that had caught her eye.

Moving from where she was, Piper inspected it, and nodded approvingly, “Nice one on this, it’ll go well with...the skirt I gave you a while ago, we’ll just go through it when we head back to your place”

“Or...we could pay for this, head back to  _ your _ place, get drunk and ramble about things” Annabeth provided, hoping to change Piper’s to-do list for the evening.

It worked as Piper, with no words exchanged, took the blouse from her hands, paid the cashier an exact amount, and took Annabeth by the hand to the parking lot.

“Do we need to buy any Booze?” Piper asked.

“Wait, we’re going to your place,” Annabeth said, looking at her dumbfounded.

“I may or may not have forgotten what I have in stock…” Piper said sheepishly from her position.

Annabeth remained silent for a moment before saying, “We’ll go to my place then, I have some Whiskey and Ale” And Piper routed them to her apartment.

After around half an hour in traffic, they arrived at the apartment.

When they entered the hallway they did not bump into Percy this time and considering how quiet his room was, they mutually decided that he was resting.

“So...what hot topic should we start with for the evening?” Annabeth asked as she brought the Ale from out of the pantry.

“Well, usually I would start with the fact that you and Percy are a couple, but we’ll reserve that for later...for now though, have you watched that show about…” And with that Piper began her rambling as Annabeth provided her glass Ale, now with ice.

As finished Piper her glass and immediately asked for a refill, Annabeth hoped that maybe she would be drunk enough to pass out before they approached the subject of her new relationship.

—————

_ 20 Minutes Later, _

The fact that Annabeth was a lightweight, has had six glasses of Ale, two glasses of Whiskey, a third on the way, and could be considered sober was just how drunk Piper was.

Piper was rambling about something on the lines of wanting a dog and how she couldn’t get one. She also had finished off the Ale from Annabeth and was on her way to draining the Whiskey to the half-way mark.

“...you realize how cute a Tabby would be?! He’d be adorable, and so incredibly squishy…but I do need the money to afford one” She continued to ramble, her face vividly animated.

“Yeah, it would be nice,” Annabeth said in response.

The effects of that amount of alcohol were beginning to do a number on Annabeth’s system, she was starting to feel tired and her thought process going in all directions.

“...anyways, how about we talk of Percy?” Piper slyly asked, this time with no effort to conceal her intentions.

“He’s nice,” Annabeth said, she was not about to be subjected to a drunken Piper’s teasing tonight, she hoped.

“But you want to bang him, don’t you?” And Annabeth just recoiled in shock at Piper’s intuition.

“YOU CAN’T JUST ASK THAT!” Annabeth exclaimed, her face on fire as Piper cackled.

“Of course I can, besides, it’s not like he’s going to hear us,” Piper said, the grin on her face told Annabeth that,  _ No _ , she was in fact not yet done and that Annabeth’s only hope for the moment would be the amount of Alcohol in Piper’s system taking effect.

——————————

_ Sunday Morning, _

“So how do I look?” Annabeth asked Piper.

Flashing her a thumbs-up, Piper responded, “Eyy, looking good...I’d say we’d done a good job” 

Annabeth had fitted out in the Orange Blouse she had chosen as well as a long cream-white skirt that Piper had gotten for her.

And on the topic of Piper, Annabeth had asked her to come by mainly so that she’d have a solid opinion to fall back on.

“So, are you ready?” Piper asked just as Annabeth finished doing her hair into a ponytail.

“Yeah...thanks, helping out with this” Annabeth said.

“It’s fine, I’d gladly do this again, now, go out and come back alive to tell me the details,” Piper said and pushed Annabeth into the hallway.

“I’ll try,” She said and the two friends shared a laugh.

With Piper crashing at her place for the day and thus meaning Annabeth didn’t have to worry about anything going wrong, she knocked on Percy’s door, a smile overcoming her face as she thought of what would happen in their day out.

“Annabeth!” Percy exclaimed and before she could register him coming into her peripheral vision, Percy enveloped her into an embrace, too which she returned.

“I’m so excited to show what I planned,” He said as they entered the elevator.

“Didn’t expect you to plan this out” Annabeth teased and Percy feigned pain.

“I’ll leave you in the elevator,” Percy said, pouting.

“I won’t even ask how you intend to do that” Annabeth chuckled.

“My ways are beyond your understanding” He explained.

They reached the ground floor and made their way to Bessie. After getting in Percy allowed Annabeth to play her favorite song album, since usually, he would throw in an objection.

This was going to be great.

—————

_ 40 Minutes later, _

_ This was going terribly _ . Percy mused to himself 

__

The current traffic was severely hampering his progress on his way to Central Park. Seeing as it wasn’t getting any better, Percy routed them to the Cafe he worked at and found an  _ employee’s only  _ parking space.

“Why are we here?” Annabeth asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she had been napping previously.

“Traffic was terrible, so we’ll be walking for now” Percy explained and Annabeth nodded, grabbing the sling bag with her belongings.

The pair got out of their vehicle and began trekking hand-in-hand. According to Percy, they should be around fifteen minutes away so it wasn’t too bad.

As they walked, they did some talking about Greek Mythology, a subject they tended to frequent.

They didn’t even realize how quickly they were walking as they reached Central Park.

“So, this is our first order of business?” Annabeth asked, turning to Percy.

“Yep, free to enjoy ourselves until Lunch” He exclaimed, a happy smile on his face.

“Let’s find a nice tree to sit under first though,” Annabeth said and immediately dashed off, with Percy following suit.

They did find a nice Oak that gave off some nice shade. Sitting down cross-legged across from each other, Annabeth initiated the conversation, “What do you think of the story so far?” 

Percy certainly hadn’t expected that question, nonetheless had an answer immediately, “Beautifully amazing”

“Heh, glad to know you’re enjoying…” Annabeth chuckled, but then trailed off. 

“But?” Percy asked, the implied conjunction clear as day.

“I may or may not have plans to end it for now” She sheepishly said and Perc’s jaw immediately dropped as he attempted to force out any kind of response.

“Hey, plans changed, I’ll make a sequel and if that’s not enough, a third installment,” She said, shrugging.

“...I think I get where you’re coming from but the big question is, what am I supposed to do while I wait?” Percy asked, pouting.

This time, Annabeth provided a kiss on Percy’s cheek, after that responding, “We can always cuddle”

“Touche, you have a point,” He said and laid his head on her lap.

Annabeth was flustered for a bit but decided t let him do it anyway, especially since it would probably be happening a lot more in the future.

So they laid there under the late morning shade, talking about a variety of topics, ranging from the mundane debate of what was the best Pasta to the more serious, future of their relationship.

Although, amidst them conversing about silly shenanigans they’d done in the past, a rumble from Percy’s stomach signified they should have lunch.

“So before you tell me, let me guess where we’re eating…” She said and after a couple of moments, “We’re eating at Cal’s aren’t we?”   
  
“Yep, it was just convenient that I parked there” Percy explained.

The pair now got up from there position and made the walk back, Percy had a massive smile as they continued walking, Annabeth was also leaning on his shoulder so that was a bonus, the real reason was that he couldn’t wait to surprise her later.

Eventually, the pair reached the Cafe, and upon entering were greeted by an enthusiastic smile courtesy of Leo.

“I see someone finally caught the fish,” He said, the comment directed to Percy.

“Oh shut it, Valdez, you realize how long it took you to get over Calypso?” Percy chided back although the smile still remained.

“It was around eight months,” Calypso said, coming out from the back. Then looking between Percy and Annabeth she had to smile, “I see you too hooked up, rest-assured Annabeth, you’re in good hands” She said then went off to tend to the customers.

Annabeth just blushed and nodded.

“ _ Anyways _ , what’d you guys going to order?” Leo asked after his eyes lingered to Calypso for a bit.

“Just the regular lunch deal, unless?...” Percy said then looked to Annabeth.

“Ya, I’m good with that” She answered.

With that, Leo took their orders, and the pair took a table, unaware of the congratulatory gossip they were being given.

—————

_ An Hour and a Half later, _

Annabeth knew Percy was naturally good, but she did not anticipate that Percy and Leo would get into a full-blown argument over their order being on the house and Percy paying for it.

Mind you, Percy did end up winning that.

“Now we move onto the fun part of the date” He exclaimed as they got into his car once again, breaking her train of thought.

The traffic had loosened up recently, allowing them to go back on the road.

“And what would that be?” Annabeth inquired.

“That is something I cannot tell you as of the moment” Percy explained slyly, then handed Annabeth a blindfold.

“Tie it on and no peeking,” He said and she obliged.

After that, she felt Percy accelerate and bring the car up to speed as they drove through the streets of New York.

After a quick several minutes, courtesy of Percy’s adrenaline, Percy brought the car to a stop and he helped out.

When Annabeth did get out, Percy urged her to remove the blindfold, and when she did, she nearly didn’t believe her eyes.

In front of her, the Empire State Building.

In Percy’s hand, two VIP tickets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Cliffhanger, kinda.  
> It’s really late so I’ll have to cut this scene short, but the last chapter will be longer to accommodate this(Though I myself aren’t happy about the abrupt ending).  
> Speaking of the last chapter, thank you once again to all my readers, you all deserve a medal for going through this.  
> If you want, I would gladly appreciate a review, it’s really nice to hear you’re guy’s thoughts!
> 
> Edit: Sorry about that, going to change upload of Chapter 7 to Monday, really sorry guys


	7. PercaBest-Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of a Voyage, at least for now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are, the final chapter of Gradual Escalation.  
>  Once again, I give my thanks to everyone who dedicated their time to reading this fic, sending Kudos, bookmarking, and others.  
>  I’ll be doing a Valentine’s Day fic, but after that, probably a short break(Unless a really nice idea comes to my head).  
>  That’ll be all, everything will be at the endnotes, enjoy guys!

Percy wasn’t entirely sure about Annabeth’s reaction to him showing her the surprise considering it had nearly been a minute and she was speechless.

“Why?” Came her quiet reply, which he nearly didn’t hear.

“ _ Well _ , Aren’t first dates supposed to be memorable?...” He said, and she nodded in response.

“...So I thought that even if you probably already visited this place-” He explained but was cut short by Annabeth.

“I haven’t” Was all she said and Percy then realized how much this actually meant for her.

“Wait a Sec, could you, maybe, back up a bit?” He asked, stunned by what she had said.

“I’ll explain when we’re inside, this is getting awkward” Annabeth said, and Percy acknowledged that, letting the two of them head inside.

Percy then went up the front desk and after flashing the tickets and some negotiating, they were directed to the elevator going up, and where most of their afternoon was to transpire.

“I just never really had the time, and if I did, I didn’t have the money” Annabeth explained as they rode the elevator upwards.

“But you could have asked Piper, she would have been happy” Percy provided. In the short time he and Piper had conversed, they had quickly become friends, with Annabeth was the main subject topic among other things.

“I considered it, but, no,” She said, and Percy looked at her, confused

“I just, don't wanna infringe, considering how much these things cost” She continued but Percy's brow scrunched up further.

Although, before he could retort though, the elevator dinged, signaling that they were on their floor.

“ _ Sooo _ …” Percy said, he wide grin across his face, “I know you would rather have it that you do the explaining so I didn't get a tourist guide this time”

The way Annabeth's face lit up at that made Percy know that this was a great idea.

“This means your fine with me rambling for how long about architecture?” She asked, her voice filled with glee.

“Please, you ramble  _ most _ of the time anyway, I can take this,” He said, and this time, Annabeth seemed to let the remark slide as she began her own tour.

Her face was animated as she thoroughly explained the floors, the building's history, and others.

“Before we continue…” She said, turning to look at him, “...Do we get to go to the roof?”

“And if I said yes?” Percy asked.

His answer was a kiss on the lips.

—————

Annabeth excitedly rolled on the soles of her feet as the elevator once again headed up, now to their last part of the tour.

As the doors slid open, she was greeted with the hazy orange skyline of New York, as they had taken much more time than anticipated.

“It’s beautiful” She happily murmured, surveying the area.

“I had hoped you’d enjoy it,” Percy said from behind her, bringing his arms around her waist.

“Thank you for doing this Percy, really” She murmured once again, letting herself be evaporated into Percy's embrace.

“Heh, no problem 'Beth, besides, you're going to have to get used to this, me surprising you and all,” He said, followed by a chuckle from the both of them.

They then stood, gazing to the skyline, still in their embrace. There weren't many people at the roof at the moment so they weren't necessarily paid much attention to.

“What now?” Annabeth asked, breaking the silence.

“Well, this is the part where I ask you where you want to eat and I treat you to that place,” He said a smile on his face.

Admittedly, Annabeth didn't want to leave yet,  _ but  _ she could go for some Italian.

“On one condition” She declared.

“Which is?...” He asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I pay the majority of the bill,” She said, leaving no room for arguments and objections.

“Honestly, arguing with you is a losing battle,” Percy said after they exited the building.

“And you know it,” Annabeth said.

With that, the pair entered  _ Bessie _ and drove off as Annabeth directed them to the nearest parlor.

Upon reaching the place, they opted to have their order taken out instead, mainly so that they could eat in the comfort of their apartment.

“So, I'll take it Piper is still at your place?” Percy asked as they pulled up to the apartment's parking lot.

“Hmm, I'll text her,” Annabeth said, bringing out her phone.

Piper replied in quick succession, confirming that, yes, she was still in Annabeth's apartment.

After texting a quick message that she and Percy were coming up, Annabeth assisted in bringing up their dinner.

“I can leave if you guys want,” Piper said after opening the door and greeting them.

“Nah, stay, there’s enough food for the three of us anyways” Percy replied, and Annabeth thought that maybe, Piper may just lay off on the teasing remarks throughout dinner.

—————

_ 45 Minutes Later, _

Not only had Piper said a few things Annabeth would have preferred to stay unsaid, but Percy had even joined in.

Even as embarrassed as she was, Annabeth couldn’t help but be elated that the two got along so well together.

“...Anyways, how’d the date go?” Piper asked, which snapped Annabeth back to reality.

“Oh I certainly had fun, it was great,” Annabeth said.

“Same, I honestly can’t wait for the next date,” Percy said, simultaneously leaning his head on her shoulder.

“Is it fine if I and Jason tag around one of these days?” Piper asked.

“Oh sure, we’ll just tell you when we can” Percy responded once again.

“Cool, cool...I’m happy for you two, by the way, you guys deserve to be happy” Piper said, a warm smile on her face.

“Thank you Piper, and I think you deserve some credit for this anyways,” Annabeth said, earning a confused look from Percy and Piper’s face heating up.

Following this, Percy didn’t decide to pry and the trio continued their casual conversation. Eventually, Piper retired to her apartment for the evening, leaving Annabeth and Percy.

“So, I think this is the part where I kiss you and head back for the evening,” He said.

Considering this, Annabeth nodded and after a few moments, she was seeing him out of the door.

“Thanks for today Percy, it was amazing,” Annabeth said, her smile being matched by Percy’s.

“Heh, no problem, I enjoyed today as well…” He said, looking slightly skittish.

Chuckling, Annabeth knew what he wanted to do, so she kissed him on the lips, his eyes widening in surprise. It wasn’t necessarily chaste but it was neither lustful, thus falling in the respectable middle-zone.

When they pulled away Annabeth could practically  _ feel _ the confusion and ecstasy radiate from Percy after she did that.

“I-uh-what,” He said as he attempted to form a cohesive sentence.

“I think that was a nice way to end the evening,” Annabeth said, ignoring his confusion.

“Uhm, yeah, it was...see you tomorrow?” He said, his mind seemingly still fixating on the kiss.

“Of course Seaweed Brain, tomorrow again, Good night,” She said. 

“Night,” He said, waving his hand a bit before she gently closed the door, followed by the sound of him entering his room as well.

Annabeth then took a shower and soon she was on her bed, preparing to head off to sleep.

Her last thoughts were of how amazing today was with Percy and how in no way was he a second Luke.

——————————

_ 2 Week later, _

“You drool when you sleep” Were the first things Percy heard, bringing him out of his slumber.

“I thought we established that already?” He groggily joked.

He had been asleep on Annabeth’s lap for God knows how long. But judging by the light streaming into his room as well as the sky, it was mid-afternoon.

“Did we have any plans for the day?” Percy asked.

“No, not really” Came her response.

“So you had to wake me up from a perfectly good nap” He grumbled with no malicious intent.

“Well yeah, besides, it’s not spending time with each other if you're asleep” She countered in her infinite Annabeth-based wisdom.

“Touché,” Percy said, then readjusted his position so that he was actually sitting up.

“So, give a good reason as to why you woke me up” He requested.

“While looking at your face and playing with your hair is fun, it gets boring after a while” She explained, and honestly, Percy could certainly attest to that.

“Honestly, I could go for some fresh air...how does a walk in the park sound like?” Percy provided and Annabeth agreed.

A quick change of clothing had them out of the apartment and on their way to Central Park.

As they rode the subway, Percy’s thoughts flowed to the busy pair of weeks he and Annabeth had gone through.

First, had been making their status as an actual couple official which then led to another visit to his parent’s place, mainly since Sally pressured and threatened to cut off the supply of blue food, for congratulations, questioning(Read: Interrogating) and a reminder to use protection.

Following this, they had resumed their private baking class, albeit limited to the weekends as they were now busier than before on weekdays.

On another note, they had yet to take Piper and Jason on that offer for a double date but the two had been frequenting more at their apartment, it had also resulted in Percy and Jason becoming quick friends.

Before he could dwell on the many drinking games that had resulted in him knocked out  _ somewhere _ , Percy heard the announcement that they had arrived at their station.

“Hey Wise Girl, what does an improvised picnic sound like?” He asked as they navigated the sea of people.

“Good idea Perce, I think I know what to get” And Annabeth once again led Percy by the hand.

The pair were now at a nearby convenience store, buying enough ingredients for some sandwiches, which Percy intended to make on the spot.

They had practically memorized at this point which tree they hung around when they visited.

Setting up, Annabeth had the foresight to buy a decently sized cloth to use as a place to put their consumables.

“Do you have any preferences before I make anything?” Percy asked her as he brought out the items they had bought.

“Nah, not really” Annabeth replied with a shrug.

And that was all the confirmation he needed to release his magical creative senses. Pulling out the Ham and Cheese first, Percy immediately got to work.

—————

_ 15 Minutes Later, _

__ Annabeth thought she had been long since mesmerized by Percy’s culinary abilities, she had thought wrong.

In front of her were a pair of three-layered sandwiches, containing Ham, Cheese, Lettuce, and other things,  _ with  _ leftover resources.

“So, what do you think?” He asked.

“Amazing, and that’s just from looks,” Annabeth remarked.

“Heh, then don’t judge a book by its cover, I wanna hear your input,” He said. They then bit into it and her tastebuds were then impacted by how well the fillings went with each other.

“Mm, it’s good Percy, really good,” She said after swallowing the bite she took.

“Thanks, I tried not to go insanely overboard on this one” He explained and Annabeth held back a scoff.

They enjoyed their mid-afternoon snack, letting time pass by. Not much was happening until Annabeth spotted a whisk of Caramel colored hair. 

Concentrating a bit more, her suspicions were confirmed.

It was Calypso and Leo...and what he was doing, she didn’t know.

Nudging Percy, he looked up from his sandwich and saw the couple, calling out to them.

“Hey Percy, Annabeth,” Leo said, bowing to the two as Calypso fondly rolled her eyes at his gesture.

“What are you guys doing here?” Percy asked after they were allowed to sit.

“Cal here thought it would be good for me to get away from my workbench,” Leo said, grumbling.

“He’s glued to it most of the time, I think that’s enough of a warranty,” Calypso said, earning a scowl from Leo.

“She’s got a point mister toolbox” Annabeth chided.

“It was fine if it was just Cally, but this is getting out of hand,” He said, though a smile threatened to spread.

“Tch, you really should listen to her Leo, a mad Calypso is something you do  _ not  _ want,” Percy said.

“Speaking from experience Jackson?” Leo teased, an evil smirk replacing the scowl.

“If I said yes?” Percy provided, but before Leo could make another retort Annabeth chimed in.

“I wouldn’t mind” 

Leo looked at her, incredulous, Calypso nodded in agreement, and Percy just smugly smirked.

“You mean he can ramble about his past relationship and you wouldn’t mind?” Leo asked, still surprised by her answer.

“As long as he says why, yeah, I don’t mind” Annabeth nonchalantly said.

“Hmph, you could take something from her,” He said, this time the prod directed at Calypso.

“Oh Hardy har har,” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Anyways, I made you two a little something to eat,” Percy said, handing them smaller versions of the sandwiches he had created a while ago.

“Thank you, Percy,” Calypso said while Leo just took a bite out of it instantly.

The two couples did some catching up with each other as they ate, with Calypso doing the retelling and Leo throwing in random remarks or details.

“Oh shit, I forgot about the flower shop” Calypso suddenly remembered, just as she finished her sandwich.

“Oh good point sunshine, we’ll see you guys around,” Leo said as they made their goodbyes.

“It is almost evening, shouldn’t we head back to?” Percy asked.

“Yeah, we should, especially so that the ride home won’t be cramped,” Annabeth said and thus they began to pack their things.

Thankfully, not much was left of what they had initially bought so it was quite easy to repack everything else and dispose of the remaining trash.

—————

_ 45 Minutes Later _

“‘Beth, can we just order take-out? It’s suddenly chilly and I want to cuddle” Percy complained from his couch.

“Sure thing Seaweed Brain, does Pizza sound good?” She said from the kitchen.

“Yes please” Was all he replied with, followed by her talking into the phone.

Moments later, Annabeth joined him in his position. Wrapping his arms around her neck, she proceeded to relax her head on his chest, pulling the blanket so that both of them were covered.

“Seaweed Brain, it’s not that cold,” She said.

“It is though, besides, this a mutually beneficial situation for the both of us” He lamented, and she didn’t deny it.

“I’d say the most mutually beneficial situation for the both of us is marriage” Annabeth stated, then immediately realized what she said.

“You make a good point...Do Orange and Blue go together?” Percy asked his mind now on a rampage of scenarios to how their wedding could go down.

“It depends on the tone, are we thinking about getting wedded?” Annabeth asked, repositioning so that she could look at Percy.

“Well, we would have  _ eventually _ breached the subject, the earlier the better,” Percy said, and he saw a smile on Annabeth.

“I see that I’m rubbing off on you” She teased.

“Indeed you are, in all of your wisdom,” He said, running a hand through her hair.

“Honestly, marriage scares me,” She said after a short bout of silence.

“How so?” Percy asked,  _ this was certainly new _ , he reasoned as not many things scared Annabeth.

“It’s sort of on the basis that, you can’t  _ completely _ prepare for what comes after, and that’s what scares me” She explained. 

“That’s fair...Though we’ll face anything together, even if it’s Tartarus” Percy firmly said.

“Hehe, thanks Seaweed Brain, I’ll take your word for that,” She said, chuckling   
  
“No problem Wise Girl, besides, it’s the truth anyway,” He said, followed by a kiss to her forehead.

They would snuggle some more until the delivery boy came with their Pizza. Following this, they moved to Percy’s bedroom as per him:  _ “I’m bored and the only thing that entertains me is cuddling _ ”

As they cuddled, Percy’s mind rerouted back to their conversation about marriage. Looking down at the girl in his arms, he knew that she would be his future, fate be damned!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was Gradual Escalation!  
>  To everyone who stuck around until here, nothing can express my thanks for you braving through my writing and all the grammatical errors I didn’t pick up.  
>  As mentioned above, the next you’ll be seeing of me will be on Valentine’s day, so stay tuned for that.
> 
> Reviews are highly appreciated, I really want to hear your thoughts on this.  
>  That’s all for now, I’ll be heading to bed now, G’night guys!


End file.
